A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for vending vendible products, and in particular, to a methodology and apparatus to attempt to ensure a successful vend every time.
B. Problems in the Art
The art of vending machines has advanced significantly over the years. There has been a proliferation of the number and types of vending machines. Furthermore, there has been a significant increase in the types of products that are vended (e.g. kind, size, shape, weight, value).
One area with need for improvement is ensuring that a selected product is in fact vended to the customer. While this is a desirable goal, it must be implemented in an economical, effective, and efficient way.
There are times when the vending machine is improperly loaded such that there is a gap in products or missing products in the vending machine. The customer may make a selection that results in operation of the machine. However, the gap or missing product does not result in the selected product being produced to the customer. Because the machine has operated, it assumes a successful vend was made. The customer not only does not receive the selected product, but cannot retrieve the money or token used to initiate the vending cycle.
Similarly, in some instances a vending cycle is properly initiated but the product gets hung up or does not make it all the way to a location that is accessible to the customer. For example, there are times when a vending machine operates a complete vend cycle (e.g. operates a motor rotating a spiral for 360 degrees of rotation), but the product is not quite able to fall from the dispensing mechanism. Again, the machine assumes a successful vend was made.
U.S. patent application U.S. 2001/0000408 A1, published Apr. 26, 2001, describes many of the concerns and considerations with respect to these types of problems. This publication is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
There is a need for an improvement in the art relative to this issue. U.S. patent application U.S. 2001/0000408 A1 discusses such problems in detail and discloses an attempt at a solution. It uses an optical detector to attempt to automatically detect whether a product actually makes it to a customer-accessible location. The vending machine initiates a vend cycle in response to an appropriate instruction and/or money from the customer. In U.S. patent application U.S. 2001/0000408 A1, the vending machine has one or more horizontal trays, each with one or more horizontally positioned spirals or helixes positioned front to back. Each helix is operatively connected to an independently operable motor. Vendible products are loaded between turns of each spiral in what is referred to as a horizontal column of vendible products. Operation of a motor causes its associated spiral to turn, which is intended to cause all products in the column of products loaded in the spiral to advance toward the front of the spiral. If the optical sensor of U.S. patent application U.S. 2001/0000408 A1, detects a predetermined variation in intensity, the vending machine assumes it was caused by a falling selected product, the vend cycle is assumed complete, the motor is turned off, and the machine waits for the next selection by a customer. U.S. patent application U.S. 2001/0000408 A1 addresses the problems in the art in a specific way. When the vend cycle is initiated, a timer is started. The timer has been pre-set to correspond to rotation of the motor for that spiral well past one complete rotation. If the sensor detects nothing over the first 360 degrees of rotation, the motor does not stop but continues to operate until the timer expires. In U.S. patent application U.S. 2001/0000408 A1, the timer period is selected to be equivalent to about 540 degrees, or one and one-half revolutions of the spiral. The theory is that instead of relying on one motor rotation for one vend cycle, and risking that a product will not be successfully vended, the motor will be allowed to operate for well over one rotation to attempt to give substantial opportunity for at least one product vend to take place. U.S. patent application U.S. 2001/0000408 A1 avoids using motors that have internal switches, well known in the art, that indicate when each 360 degree rotation has occurred, freeing itself from the cost and assumption that 360 degrees of rotation is the standard rotation to use for each vend cycle. Instead, it places reliance upon the optical sensor and an intentional extended time period of possible motor rotation (substantially over 360 degrees), to try to ensure that a successful vend is made each time. At expiration of the predetermined time period, if the optical sensor has not sensed a vend, the machine stops the motor and assumes there is a problem with that selection or column of product, and either refunds credit or prompts the customer to made another selection. Because of this reliance on the optical sensor, substantial pre-calibration steps of the sensor are taken prior to each vend request.
Additionally, U.S. patent application U.S. 2001/0000408 A1 describes in detail a variety of steps that are taken to deter malfunction or manipulation of the vending machine. These appear necessary because of reliance on the optical sensor and use of the above-described methodology to try to ensure a vend every time. While this does attempt to solve the above-discussed problems, its approach can result in the following. If, for example, the sensor is temporarily or otherwise malfunctioning, and such is not detected or acted upon by the vending machine, it is possible the customer did receive a first vend, but then would be given the windfall of a second vend. Examples are discussed in U.S. patent application U.S. 2001/0000408 A1, including the possibility that a product could, in some cases, bypass detection of the sensor, or the sensor does not accurately assume a vend or lack of a vend.
Also, there are times when, at the completion of an unsuccessful vend cycle (e.g. 540 degrees rotation), the product is close to being vendible, or is temporarily hung up or stalled from falling to the detector, or otherwise slightly delayed in reaching the vend sensors. Again, in U.S. patent application U.S. 2001/0000408 A1, the selected time period (and amount of rotation, e.g. 540 degrees) may not be enough to obtain a successful vend. And then, the customer would be denied selection from that column because it would be disabled until the vending machine operator can review and remedy the situation.
Furthermore, there is no disclosed back-up system for operation of a column in U.S. patent application U.S. 2001/0000408 A1 if the optical sensor is indicated to be malfunctioning.
Also, because the motor is immediately stopped when the optical sensor indicates a vend in U.S. patent application U.S. 2001/0000408 A1, there is no general uniformity how much angular rotation of the spiral occurs per vend cycle. Thus, if one product falls out early in a vend cycle (e.g. with 160 degrees rotation), the motor stops the spiral at about 160 degrees for the first vend cycle. If the next-in-line product was loaded or reacts in a manner that it does not vend over the next 540 degrees spiral rotation, it might not vend the next-in-line product; even though the two products might have both vended on two successive 360 degree motor rotations.
Also, since the leading end of the spiral xe2x80x9cruns outxe2x80x9d, the operator may want to doubly make sure that the first few vends will be successful. It is likely the operator will place the first product in the column somewhat back away from the leading end of the spiral, to avoid a problem on the second vend. This can lead to less products being loaded in the column when the machine is re-stocked, which is less productive and efficient for the operator.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,202,888 B1, issued Mar. 20, 2001, also incorporated by reference herein, recognizes there can be problems with product hang up and also with product security. Its solution is to rotate the mechanism that moves the product to a delivery location at least one, and optionally somewhat past one, complete rotation (e.g. by timing), to attempt to ensure that the product in the first position is dispensed. It then reverses rotation back to a home position (one complete revolution position), or behind home position to try to ensure the product can not be vibrated loose by shaking the machine, and awaits the next vend instruction. U.S. Pat. No. 6,202,888 B1 discusses use of a sensor (e.g. an optical sensor) to detect a vended product. It also discusses use of a sensor to detect if a product is present at the front of a helix, ready to be dispensed. It does disclose the ability to use motor switches or home position sensors for the motors to tell when a xe2x80x9chomexe2x80x9d position for a motor is reached. There is no second vend cycle to attempt to provide a product if no product is sensed as vended after the first cycle, however. The vend cycle is preset to have the motor rotate the helix an angular amount, and then automatically each time reverse direction an angular amount.
Therefore, there is still room for improvement in the art.
It is therefore a principal object, feature, or advantage of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method which improves and/or solves problems and deficiencies in the art.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention include a method and apparatus for vending vendible products which:
a. works well for a variety of different vendible product types, sizes, shapes, weights, and values.
b. does not rely only on a product sensor, whether optical or otherwise;
c. has alternative operating mode if a product sensor is indicated to have or does malfunction;
d. provides improved probability of successful vends;
e. does not give a high probability of windfall vends;
f. can provide information helpful to track vending machine performance.
g. provides good product security after each vending cycle.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent with reference to the accompanying specification and claims.
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for increasing the likelihood a successful vend is made for every authorized customer selection in a vending machine. The vending machine includes a controller, at least one product dispensing system for receiving a column of vendible product and driven by a motor with a home position sensor, and a product sensor to detect if a selected product from the column has been moved out of the column. The motor and product sensor are in operative connection to the controller.
In one aspect of a method according to the invention, there first can be an automatic check of the operation of a product sensor. If the check is negative, the vending machine is instructed to accomplish vend cycles without use of the product sensor. In one embodiment, subsequent vend cycles are accomplished by simply stopping the product dispension motor after each rotation, using the home position sensor associated with the motor.
On the other hand, if the product sensor test is positive, a vend cycle is started by operating the appropriate product dispension motor for the product selection, causing it to begin rotation from its home position. If the product sensor detects a product during that first vend cycle, and before the motor reaches its home position, the controller reads the product sensor and recognizes this as a successful vend. The motor also continues to operate until it reaches its home position. Optionally, the controller can use the recognition of a successful vend in an accounting regimen to keep track of successful vends for that customer selection.
If the product sensor does not sense a successful vend during the first vend cycle by the time the motor returns to home position, the motor is stopped or paused at home position, but the product sensor and controller continues to monitor for a preset time period. If a product is sensed by the product sensor during that period, the controller recognizes a successful vend. The product dispension motor was already stopped or disabled and in its home position, and is ready for a next vend cycle.
If no successful vend is sensed during the pause period after the first vend cycle, a second vend cycle is started by starting the product dispension motor again. Optionally, the controller can keep track of the fact that a second vend has commenced for this product selection and stored for later use. If a successful vend is sensed, the motor is stopped immediately, and the controller reads that the vend has now been successful. The motor is stopped and left in that rotational position regardless of whether it is in the home position. It is ready for initiation of a next vend cycle. When that occurs, the same method would be repeated except during the first vend cycle, the motor would rotate back to home position, even if it is only a small angle of rotation, and stop. If, after the pause period, no vend is sensed, the second vend cycle would begin from that home position.
If a product is not sensed by the time the motor reaches the home position during the second vend cycle, a signal can be created which can activate an indicator of a malfunction, give the customer credit, and/or give the customer a prompt to make an alternative selection. Optionally, the controller can store information indicating that the vend was unsuccessful, even though a second vend cycle for the same product selection was completed.
Instead of disabling the column from further vending, an optional feature is to alternatively allow one or more additional attempts at getting a vend from the column, before disabling it.